Gerrard Slams Sterling As Man City Plan £45m Bid For Want-Away Liverpool Star

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, more on the future of Raheem Sterling….

Steven Gerrard has slammed want-away Liverpool attacker Raheem Sterling for his actions this summer as Manchester City prepare to test Liverpool’s resolve with a final offer worth £45m, according to the Mirror.

Sterling is pushing to leave Anfield this summer after refusing to sign a new contract and the attacker has missed the last two days of training through ‘illness’ as he looks to try and wriggle his way out of having to go on the clubs pre-season tour on Sunday.

While they player insists he wants to secure a move for footballing reasons, the Mirror reported yesterday that the real reason behind his potential exit is a complete breakdown in his relationship with Brendan Rodgers.

Sterling’s behaviour hasn’t gone down too well among the Liverpool fan-base with disgruntled supporters sending abusive messages to his mobile phone while some have even turned up outside his house, but it appears his antics have also riled a certain former skipper.

Steven Gerrard has voiced his displeasure at how Sterling has conducted himself this summer and has urged the 20-year-old to act like a man, before suggesting that he should behave more like Jordan Henderson – who has just been named as Gerrard’s successor as Liverpool captain.

Gerrard is quoted as saying by the Mirror:

“I’m not happy with all that carry-on and I don’t think there’s any need for it. They all need to be men about the situation.

“Raheem needs to go in and speak to the owners and to Brendan himself, tell them what he wants and go about it that way. You don’t have to throw illnesses in and refuse to go on tour.”

“There are millions and millions of Liverpool fans around the world who are itching to see Raheem Sterling in a Liverpool kit. So I don’t think it’s fair on them if he is behaving like that.”

“Raheem and Jordan are at different ends of the scale, Jordan’s so professional, he’s a winner, a great lad.

“I don’t think there’s a more fitting player to take that armband off me. I see a lot of my game in Jordan’s game and what I like about him is he’s very humble.”

The situation is beginning to get messy and I think a quick resolution would be best for all parties as the longer this saga drags on, the more hostile it’s going to become.

Perhaps there is an end in sight as the Mirror are reporting that Manchester City will table a third and final offer worth £40m up front and a further £5m in add ons for Sterling’s signature.

The offer will still fall short of Liverpool’s £50m valuation but the newspaper claims that City are confident the deal will be enough to persuade the Merseysiders to cash-in before Sterling starts to cause trouble in the Anfield dressing room.

The paper suggests that some of the Liverpool squad are unhappy with the England attacker for trying to force a move this summer and would like to see him sold, so there would likely be tension if Sterling is forced to go to the Far East on the clubs pre-season tour next week.

READ MORE –> Liverpool transfer news | Man City transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see when City submit their new offer but you’d expect it should be fairly soon as Liverpool are due to set-off on Sunday and I’m sure all parties would rather a deal was agreed before that point.

If his future is still up-in-the air by the end of the weekend, then I think we’ll see Sterling claim he’s ‘not in the right frame of mind’ to go on tour in a bid to force his way out the exit door.